Hey There (You With The Gun In Your Hand): A Rat Pack Mystery

by: Robert J. Randisi

Published by: Thomas Dunne Books

Reviewed by Julie Failla Earhart

Hey pallies! Robert J. Randisi’s third installment of the Rat Pack Mystery series, Hey There (You With The Gun In Your Hand), is on the shelves and waiting for you to dive right in!

At Ol’ Blue Eyes’ request, Joey Bishop has called upon the Sands’ pit boss Eddie G. to take a quick trip up to a house in Tahoe. Seems one of the Pack is in a bit of a jam. Again. This time it’s Sammy Davis, Jr. Sammy’s hobby is photography, and now he’s being blackmailed over one of his photos. Whatever is in the picture must not be worth much because the blackmailer is only asking twenty-five grand for it. More than the money, Sammy is worried about the embarrassment he and his family will have to endure if the photo reaches the tabloids.

After all the beatings Eddie G. took for Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin in the first two capers, he’s a little reluctant to make the drop alone. He calls his favorite muscleman from New York, Jerry Epstein, a.k.a. Jerry the Torpedo. As long as Jerry has his back, Eddie G. is willing to do whatever the guys ask.

When Eddie G. and Jerry scope out the rendezvous site, they find a dead body. Is that the guy blackmailing Sammy? Don’t know. Now the wait until begins. Will someone contact Sammy? Or is it safe to go back to work at the Sands?

No one contacts Sammy right away, but Eddie and Jerry are involved in enough scuffles and shootings to make Eddie wonder is there isn’t a double-cross going on.

Most of the action takes place in Tahoe and Reno and without as much involvement from Frank and Dean. Eddie G. has to track down Peter Lawford to get some info. More than a bit role for Peter adds depth to Hey There (You With The Gun In Your Hand).

I love this series and read Hey There in one afternoon. Now I’m left waiting a whole year for the next Rat Pack Mystery, which Randisi tells me will be called You’re Nobody ”˜Til Somebody Kills You. I can’t wait!

Armchair Interviews says: This series sounds like a hoot!